Calibration of a Field-Scale Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) Model with Field Placement of Best Management Practices in Alger Creek, Michigan

Katherine R. Merriman, Amy M. Russell, Cynthia M. Rachol, Prasad Daggupati, Raghavan Srinivasan, Brett A. Hayhurst and Todd D. Stuntebeck
Additional contact information
Katherine R. Merriman: U.S. Geological Survey Central Midwest Water Science Center, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Amy M. Russell: U.S. Geological Survey Central Midwest Water Science Center, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Cynthia M. Rachol: U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Lansing, MI 48911, USA
Prasad Daggupati: School of Engineering, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
Raghavan Srinivasan: Spatial Science Laboratory, Ecosystem Science and Management Department, Texas A & M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
Brett A. Hayhurst: U.S. Geological Survey New York Water Science Center, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA
Todd D. Stuntebeck: U.S. Geological Survey Upper Midwest Water Science Center, Middleton, WI 53562, USA

Sustainability, 2018, vol. 10, issue 3, 1-23

Abstract: Subwatersheds within the Great Lakes “Priority Watersheds” were targeted by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to determine the effectiveness of the various best management practices (BMPs) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Natural Resources Conservation Service National Conservation Planning (NCP) Database. A Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model is created for Alger Creek, a 50 km 2 tributary watershed to the Saginaw River in Michigan. Monthly calibration yielded very good Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE) ratings for flow, sediment, total phosphorus (TP), dissolved reactive phosphorus (DRP), and total nitrogen (TN) (0.90, 0.79, 0.87, 0.88, and 0.77, respectively), and satisfactory NSE rating for nitrate (0.51). Two-year validation results in at least satisfactory NSE ratings for flow, sediment, TP, DRP, and TN (0.83, 0.54, 0.73, 0.53, and 0.60, respectively), and unsatisfactory NSE rating for nitrate (0.28). The model estimates the effect of BMPs at the field and watershed scales. At the field-scale, the most effective single practice at reducing sediment, TP, and DRP is no-tillage followed by cover crops (CC); CC are the most effective single practice at reducing nitrate. The most effective BMP combinations include filter strips, which can have a sizable effect on reducing sediment and phosphorus loads. At the watershed scale, model results indicate current NCP BMPs result in minimal sediment and nutrient reductions (<10%).

Keywords: best management practices (BMPs), Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), nutrients; field-scale; Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI), edge-of-field (EOF) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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